HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 27 NOVEMBER 2017
 
SECRETARY-GENERAL TRAVELING TO COTE D’IVOIRE FOR AFRICAN UNION-EUROPEAN UNION SUMMIT ON YOUTH

• The Secretary-General will travel to Côte d’Ivoire to attend the fifth African Union-European Union summit in Abidjan on 29 November. The theme of the summit is “Investing in the youth for a sustainable future”. The Secretary-General will deliver remarks during the opening ceremony.
• He will also meet with President Alassane Ouattara, as well as other participating Heads of State and Government.
• The Secretary-General will be in New York on the afternoon of 30 November.

IN FIRST MEETING WITH HIGH-LEVEL MEDIATION GROUP, SECRETARY-GENERAL SPOTLIGHTS KEY ROLE OF PREVENTION IN CRISIS RESOLUTION

• The Secretary-General today met for the first time with his High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation, which was established to advise him on mediation matters and to contribute to his efforts to build stronger partnership towards prevention and resolving crises.
• The Secretary-General emphasized the critical role the Board members have given their experience and knowledge and the role they can play in preventive diplomacy.

‘MOMENT OF TRUTH’ HAS ARRIVED IN SYRIA TALKS, U.N. ENVOY TELLS SECURITY COUNCIL

• Staffan de Mistura, the Special Envoy for Syria, briefed the Security Council by videolink today about the preparations for the round of talks on Syria that are to begin in Geneva tomorrow.  He said that he believes the moment of truth has arrived for the Syria talks.  As Da’esh is being defeated, he said, neither side should turn to violence in the de-escalation zones, and he expressed concern about the latest violence in eastern Ghouta.
• Mr. de Mistura said the talks should begin in Geneva without preconditions.  Initially, he said, the participants should focus on a work plan, focusing on principles as well as the constitutional and election “baskets”, towards the implementation of Security Council resolution 2254.  He added that all other initiatives should support the UN mediation process, which the Security Council has mandates the United Nations to conduct, and no one else.
• Regarding the situation in eastern Ghouta, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that, today, a UN/Syrian Arab Red Crescent inter-agency convoy was not able to enter Nashabieh in eastern Ghouta due to fighting in the area. The convoy contained food, health and nutrition items for 7,200 people in need.  While guarantees of safe passage had been granted before the humanitarian convoy moved, it was forced to turn back following shelling and explosions in the area.

AS RESTRICTIONS EASE, U.N. CONTINUES TO URGE UNIMPEDED HUMANITARIAN ACCESS TO HELP YEMENIS IN NEED

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that, since the November 6th blockade on Yemen, the Saudi-led Coalition has eased restrictions for humanitarian movements on Yemen’s national airport in Sana’a and the Hodaidah and Saleef ports.
• On Saturday, three humanitarian flights landed and took off from Sana’a airport, including two UN Humanitarian Air Service passenger flights and one humanitarian cargo flight.
• One of those flights delivered 1.9 million doses of diphtheria vaccines for 600,000 children to protect them against whooping cough, tuberculosis, pneumonia and meningitis. These vaccines will help to contain the current outbreak of diphtheria of which, since August, more than 170 suspected cases and at least 14 deaths in Ibb Governorate have been recorded.
• Since the beginning of the blockade three weeks ago, the first commercial cargo vessel carrying 5,500 metric tons of wheat flour was able to berth in Hodaidah port yesterday, while a UN-chartered vessel carrying 25,000 metric tons of bulk wheat berthed at Saleef port today.
• With rapidly-dwindling fuel stocks in Yemen and the dire humanitarian situation pushing at least seven million people towards famine, it is important that there is unimpeded access for both humanitarian and commercial cargo to enter Hodaidah and Saleef ports, including those carrying fuel.
• Fuel is urgently required to operate generators for hospitals, water well pumps and sanitation units, and to facilitate the trucking of drinking water and staple food to vulnerable people in need. Some 21 million Yemenis need humanitarian assistance.

U.N. PEACEKEEPING CHIEF TRAVELS TO BRAZIL TO PAY TRIBUTE TO COUNTRY’S BLUE HELMETS

• The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, is in Brazil on a two-day visit. He is in Brasilia today where he will deliver a lecture at the Ministry of Defence. In Rio de Janeiro tomorrow, he will visit the Brazilian Marine Corps Training Centre.
• During his visit, he will meet with Government and security officials, as well as members of Congress. He will also convey gratitude for Brazil’s engagement and contributions to UN peacekeeping, including the pivotal role Brazilian peacekeepers played in the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) towards bringing security and stability to the country.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: SECRETARY-GENERAL SPEAKS OUT AGAINST DEADLY ATTACK ON U.N. PEACEKEEPERS

• In a statement on the Central African Republic that issued yesterday evening, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the attack perpetrated by suspected anti-Balaka against a convoy of the UN mission in the country. As a result of the attack, one peacekeeper from Egypt was killed and three others were injured. The Secretary-General offers his deepest condolences and sympathy to the family of the victim and to the Government of Egypt and wishes a swift recovery to the wounded. With this latest attack, hostile acts have claimed the lives of 13 peacekeepers in the Central African Republic since January 2017.
• The Secretary-General also recalls that attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime. He calls on the Central African Republic authorities to investigate the attack in order to swiftly bring those responsible to justice.

NUMBER OF ROHINGYA REFUGEES FLEEING TO BANGLADESH FROM MYANMAR REACHES 624,000 – U.N. RELIEF WING

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the number of Rohingya refugees who have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh since 25 August has reached 624,000.
• An average of 430 Rohingya refugees per day entered Bangladesh this past week – a decrease compared to the previous week.

MADAGASCAR: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CALLS FOR SUSTAINED RESPONSE TO PLAGUE OUTBREAK

• The World Health Organization (WHO) warned today that Madagascar’s unprecedented outbreak of pneumonic plague is slowing down but that the response must be sustained.
• According to data published by the Madagascar Ministry of Health, the number of new infections has been in steady decline in recent weeks. But more infections of both bubonic and pneumonic plague are expected until the end of the plague season in April 2018.
• Between 1 August and 22 November, the Madagascar Ministry of Public Health reported a total 2,348 cases, including 202 deaths.
• In response, WHO rapidly released $1.5 million in emergency funds, delivered more than 1.2 million doses of antibiotics, and trained more than 4,400 people to work as ‘contact tracers’.
• More than 135 WHO and Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) staff have been reassigned or deployed to Madagascar to respond to the outbreak.
• Ongoing support to sustain the response is required for comprehensive case finding, active contact identification and treatment, rodent and flea control, and ensuring safe and dignified burials.